New hope for old waterfront ship shack

Updated 3:01 am, Thursday, September 20, 2012

Photo: Photo By Craig Lee, SFC

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

SONOMA23_063_cl.JPG
Story on Sonoma county's growing pains as its wine tourism grows. Photo of the dining room at Cyrus in Healdsburg.
Event on 1/26/07 in Healdsburg.
photo by Craig Lee / The Chronicle

SONOMA23_063_cl.JPG
Story on Sonoma county's growing pains as its wine tourism grows. Photo of the dining room at Cyrus in Healdsburg.
Event on 1/26/07 in Healdsburg.
photo by Craig Lee / The Chronicle

Photo: Photo By Craig Lee, SFC

New hope for old waterfront ship shack

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

A degaussing station was used in World War II to demagnetize a large boat's natural magnetic field, thus making it less likely to be detected by a nautical mine.

There is one in San Francisco, built by the U.S. Navy in 1943, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, right on the Marina Green. It no longer intercepts ships coming through the bay; instead, the little waterfront shack has sat vacant and behind barbed wire for decades.

Yet, with a little luck, it will be resurrected as a restaurant, courtesy of Woodhouse Fish Co.

Dylan MacNiven- principal partner of Woodhouse's two San Francisco locations and its Western-themed sister, West of Pecos - has been working with the city to revive the Marina Degaussing Station for the past year or so.

Latest food videos

Woodhouse was unanimously selected as the tenant to engage in lease negotiations, and the partners have been steadily moving through the process. On Thursday, MacNiven will seek approval from the Recreation and Park Commission; next up would be the Board of Supervisors.

For MacNiven, who owns the restaurants with his brothers, the Marina Degaussing Station is on familiar territory. He has a boat nearby, and like many others, they've passed by the derelict building hundreds of times.

"The dream is to make it into this iconic San Francisco place that people talk about when they visit," says MacNiven, noting that aside from nearby Greens, the north shore of San Francisco has very few restaurants with a view.

The concept is a "trimmed-down" version of Woodhouse. It will be counter service only, and the majority of seating will be on a newly constructed patio. The menu will bear a strong resemblance to the other Woodhouse locations: clam chowder, oysters, salads, crab rolls, lobster rolls, tuna burgers, cracked crab and so on - plus the additional feature of morning coffee service and breakfast pastries. A beer and wine license is also in the cards.

"We felt from the prospective of serving park users, having a cafe where they can get sandwich and beer or grab a morning coffee is a nice amenity for park users," says Sarah Ballard, director of policy and public affairs for the Recreation and Park Department.

"Their experience, their ethos as a family business and the general way they run their businesses really jibes with the park system. They serve families and neighborhoods."

If all goes as planned, construction could start before the end of the year, with the goal of being open by America's Cup in summer 2013.

In more immediate news, Woodhouse has hired a new chef to oversee its two current locations. August Schuchman - formerly of Yankee Pier, Cibo and Waterbar - has come aboard, replacing Jon Hearnsberger, who had been the chef there for more than three years.

Healdsburg shift: As reported this year, Healdsburg's four-star Cyrus (29 North St.) is closing at the end of October. After a long tiff with the landlords at Hotel Les Mars, Cyrus' Douglas Keaneand Nick Peytondecided to sell the restaurant - but not its name - to Bill Foley, who owns the hotel with David Fink.

Now comes the first indication of Foley's plans for the Cyrus space: He's taking it "upscale casual." He says he's close to acquiring J. Alexander's, a restaurant chain with more than 30 locations, mostly in the South and Midwest.

"I'm thinking of calling it J. Alex's," he said. "It would be a reduced size but the same sort of concept."

And if it doesn't come to fruition? Foley points out he's got a few other similar chains in his portfolio, like Stoney River Legendary Steaks.

In the meantime, Cyrus reservations are the hottest ticket around. The restaurant is nearly fully booked for the entire month, with a waiting list.

Adios: Lovers of birthday sombreros and hot chips are in mourning, for the Stonestown location of Chevy's has ceased to exist. The closure means that there is only one Chevy's left in San Francisco, on the corner of Third and Howard streets.

The 2-year-old Locavore (3215 Mission St.) is also calling it quits. Owner Mario Duartesays he wants to spend more time with his family, so he's decided to close the restaurant on Oct. 1.

Top Techies: While "Top Chef: The Cruise" sets sail on the oceans - yes, it's actually a real thing, featuring Tom Colicchio and friends - Bravo is shooting a new series here in the Bay Area. The reality show will focus on Silicon Valley, but there will be at least one cameo from a San Francisco restaurant.

On Tuesday, the show was shooting at Barbacco (220 California St.). Word on the street is that the episode highlights Bay Area spots using technology in new and interesting ways.

Barbacco's tech contribution? Using iPads as wine lists.

Inside: E&O Asian Kitchen in S.F. updates its interior and its drinks. E3

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.